Sometimes, you just want to feel like you’re reading in an old library during a storm, you know? Because I’ve read so widely and studied so many Classics, I’ve had the opportunity to immerse myself in old books in a way that many others haven’t. Take that obsessive bookishness and add a love for magical, literary, character-driven stories, and voilà! I’m lucky I got to write my own dark academia novel for people looking to have that experience. Hopefully these books make you just as cozy and melancholy as they make me.
I’m obsessed with Hamlet. Ever since reading the play fifteen years ago (and teaching it many times since), I’ve wanted to tell Laertes’ side of the story.
In my version, set in 1920s Europe with dark academia vibes, Laertes Belleforest lives two lives: a wild, passionate one with his best friends studying Classics in Paris and a stifling existence in the Danish court where the mercurial prince Hamlet constantly overshadows him. Now, in his last year at university, Laertes must decide what kind of man he will become. When tragedy rocks Denmark, Laertes’ questions about guilt and identity are forced into focus. Like a Greek play, his story hurtles through love and wine, ghosts and revenge, toward inevitable catastrophe.
I love the lush, dark vibes of this story. Personally, I appreciate exciting stories that also make me think deeply about things.
Dorian Gray is magical, philosophical, thrilling, and has a twist ending. A haunted portrait? Brilliant banter? Amazing. When I’m in the mood for something beautiful and angsty, this is the perfect book. It’s immersive—think gas lamps, chaise lounges, strawberry ice, strangers in the dark, and London high society. The dark side of Oscar Wilde is unbeatable.
'A triumph of execution ... one of the best narratives of the "double life" of a Victorian gentleman' Peter Ackroyd
Oscar Wilde's alluring novel of decadence and sin was a succes de scandale on publication. It follows Dorian Gray who, enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his depravity. This definitive edition includes a selection of…
John Keats is one of my all-time favorite poets. It breaks my heart to think of how many poems were left unwritten when he died young. The ones he left behind are melancholy and absolutely gorgeous. The language tastes like chocolate. He’s a master of using sound to evoke nostalgia (for people who care about the mechanics of these things. It’s okay if you don’t.) His poetry speaks for itself. Read one of his poems slowly, and you’ll feel like you’re lying in a moonlit meadow with a glass of wine, pondering eternity.
Covering the entire output of an archetypal - and tragically short-lived - romantic genius, the Penguin Classics edition of The Complete Poems of John Keats is edited with an introduction and notes by John Barnard.
Keats's first volume of poems, published in 1817, demonstrated both his belief in the consummate power of poetry and his liberal views. While he was criticized by many for his politics, his immediate circle of friends and family immediately recognized his genius. In his short life he proved to be one of the greatest and most original thinkers of the second generation of Romantic poets,…
There has to be a Greek or Roman classic on this list if it’s going to feel like dark academia. Homer’s Iliad is great, but I went off the beaten path. I read this collection of dialogues in college, and my favorite is definitely the Phaedo, which recounts Socrates’ death. It’s short, dynamic, and easy to follow. Some philosophy is tough for non-philosophers to wrap their heads around, but Plato’s dialogue style of writing and Socrates’ clear arguments make it easier.
I’m always struck by the contentment Socrates finds, even though his death is unjust. I’ve never forgotten some of the things he says to his friends at the end.
The third edition of The Trial and Death of Socrates presents G. M. A. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for Plato, Complete Works. A number of new or expanded footnotes are also included along with a Select Bibliography.
I know, I know—this one’s YA urban fantasy. What’s this book doing on this list? It is one of my all-time favorites, and it has the heart of a dark academia story.
It sweeps you up in its magic and doesn’t let you go. The book itself is like a spell. I can’t even fully articulate why I love it so much. The characters are obsessive and flawed and so wonderfully written I can’t get them out of my head. Because of it, I own a version of Gansey’s multimedia, research-driven, Welsh king-hunting journal. Now, if that’s not the spirit of dark academia, I don’t know what is.
'There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve,' Neeve said. 'Either you're his true love ... or you killed him.'Every year Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them - until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a…
I’ve taught Hamlet for over ten years and keep finding new revelations in it. The language is rich and beautiful, the story is painful, and the themes are relevant even today. It’s the kind of story that makes you want to memorize it, even though the main character is terrible sometimes.
My friends can tell you that I get excited any time I see a Hamlet reference or hear about a new version of the play. It’s famous for a reason. It shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does. My favorite Shakespeare play!
In Shakespeare's verbally dazzling and eternally enigmatic exploration of conscience, madness and the nature of humanity, a young prince meets his father's ghost in the middle of the night, who accuses his own brother - now married to his widow - of murdering him. The prince devises a scheme to test the truth of the ghost's accusation, feigning wild insanity while plotting revenge. But his actions soon begin to wreak havoc on innocent and guilty alike.
Activist Xander Wallace and his straitlaced father do not have an easy relationship. Jim’s views on race, immigration, gender, sexuality, and even Millennials alienate his son no matter how hard Xander tries to find common ground. Toss in Jim’s second marriage ten months after Xander’s mother died, and it’s a volatile cocktail. How, against this backdrop, will Xander ever dare to bare his soul and reveal his greatest secret?
Winner of a 2023 American Fiction Award, a First Place prize in the Chanticleer International Book Awards, and a 5-Star Readers’ Favorite review.
Interested in
life satisfaction,
occult,
and
self-actualization?
11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.
Browse their picks for the best books about
life satisfaction,
occult,
and
self-actualization.
